Find flights
Deals
When to book
FAQs & Tips
Airlines

CNS - SFO

$904 Find cheap flights from Cairns to San Francisco

This is the cheapest one-way flight price found by a KAYAK user in the last 72 hours by searching for a flight from Cairns to San Francisco departing on 3/7. Fares are subject to change and may not be available on all flights or dates of travel. Click the price to replicate the search for this deal.
1 adult
Sun 9/6
Sun 16/6

Search hundreds of travel sites at once for deals on flights to San Francisco

 
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Cairns to San Francisco, as well as popular online travel agencies
These are the airlines KAYAK users have selected most often from within our search results in flight searches from Cairns to San Francisco, as well as popular online travel agencies
In the last 7 days, travellers have searched 43,895,468 times on KAYAK, and here's why:

Save 19% or moreCompare multiple travel sites with one search.

Track pricesNot ready to book? Create a price alert for when prices drop.

Free to useThere are no hidden charges or fees.

Filter your dealsChoose cabin class, free Wi-Fi and more.

Cheap flight deals from Cairns to San Francisco (CNS-SFO)

Here are some of the best deals found on KAYAK recently from the most popular airlines for round-trip flights from Cairns to San Francisco that are departing in the next months. While these flights were available on KAYAK in the last 72 hours, prices and availability are subject to change and deals may expire.
Discover the best prices and deals for you by selecting your travel dates.
Choose your dates
19:00 - 08:15CNS-SFO
30h 15m1 stop
23:35 - 18:20SFO-CNS
25h 45m1 stop
$1,539Virgin Australia
Find Deal
Thu, 17 Oct - Mon, 21 Oct
12:25 - 08:15CNS-SFO
36h 50m1 stop
23:35 - 18:20SFO-CNS
25h 45m1 stop
$1,545Virgin Australia
Find Deal
Thu, 17 Oct - Mon, 21 Oct
06:00 - 08:15CNS-SFO
43h 15m2 stops
23:35 - 18:20SFO-CNS
25h 45m1 stop
$1,563Virgin Australia
Find Deal
Thu, 17 Oct - Mon, 21 Oct
11:50 - 08:15CNS-SFO
37h 25m2 stops
23:35 - 18:20SFO-CNS
25h 45m1 stop
$1,568Virgin Australia
Find Deal
Thu, 17 Oct - Mon, 21 Oct
12:45 - 13:24CNS-SFO
41h 39m2 stops
14:00 - 12:05SFO-CNS
29h 05m2 stops
$1,591American Airlines
Find Deal
Thu, 17 Oct - Mon, 21 Oct
12:45 - 19:56CNS-SFO
48h 11m2 stops
14:00 - 12:05SFO-CNS
29h 05m2 stops
$1,735American Airlines
Find Deal
Thu, 17 Oct - Mon, 21 Oct
12:45 - 19:56CNS-SFO
48h 11m2 stops
00:54 - 11:50SFO-CNS
41h 56m2 stops
$1,742American Airlines
Find Deal
Thu, 17 Oct - Sun, 20 Oct
12:30 - 22:20CNS-SFO
50h 50m2 stops
00:15 - 11:50SFO-CNS
42h 35m2 stops
$2,610Cathay Pacific
Find Deal
Thu, 17 Oct - Sun, 20 Oct

Good to know

Low season

March

High season

November

Cheapest flight

$904
Best time to beat the crowds (30% less expensive on average)
Most popular time to fly and prices are also 21% lower on average.
Flight from Cairns to San Francisco

When to book flights from Cairns to San Francisco

Are your dates flexible? Find out the best times to travel from Cairns to San Francisco based on our flight data from the last year. Discover the cheapest month and even day to fly.
Estimated return price
KAYAK looks at all historical flight data for each date to provide a predicted price for one-way trips or returns with a duration up to 40 days. While we try to provide actual minimum prices for each date, some prices are predictions and actual prices may differ.

FAQs for booking flights from Cairns to San Francisco

  • Where can I park a car at Cairns Airport (CNS)?

    Cairns Airport has three car parks – one in Terminal 1 for international departures and two in Terminal 2 for domestic travellers. The car parks are only about a 2min walk from the terminal building. Depending on your needs, you can book a suitable parking option. Passengers can park at the airport for a minimum of three days. For shorter durations, be sure to consult a representative at the car park. You can book in advance to scoop available discounts.

  • How can I fly from Cairns to San Francisco?

    No direct flights are found; there are only connecting flights from Cairns to San Francisco. However, there are airlines offering one-stop flights, such as the Qantas and Air New Zealand flight from Cairns to San Francisco, both with common layovers happening at Melbourne (MEL) and Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport (SYD).

  • What is the cheapest flight from Cairns to San Francisco?

    In the last 3 days, the lowest price for a flight from Cairns to San Francisco was $596 for a one-way ticket and $1,015 for a return.

  • Which aircraft models fly most regularly from Cairns to San Francisco?

    We unfortunately don’t have that data for this specific route.

  • Which airline alliances offer flights from Cairns to San Francisco?

    oneworld is the only airline alliance operating flights between Cairns and San Francisco.

  • How does KAYAK find such low prices on flights from Cairns to San Francisco?

    KAYAK is a travel search engine. That means we look across the web to find the best prices we can find for our users. With over 2 billion flight queries processed yearly, we are able to display a variety of prices and options on flights from Cairns to San Francisco.

  • How does KAYAK's flight Price Forecast tool help me choose the right time to buy my flight ticket from Cairns to San Francisco?

    KAYAK’s flight Price Forecast tool uses historical data to determine whether the price for a flight to San Francisco from Cairns is likely to change within 7 days, so travelers know whether to wait or book now.

  • What is the Hacker Fare option on flights from Cairns to San Francisco?

    Hacker Fares allow you to combine one-way tickets in order to save you money over a traditional return ticket. You could then fly to San Francisco with an airline and back to Cairns with another airline.

  • What is KAYAK's "flexible dates" feature and why should I care when looking for a flight from Cairns to San Francisco?

    Sometimes travel dates aren't set in stone. If your preferred travel dates have some wiggle room, flexible dates will show you all the options when flying to San Francisco from Cairns up to 3 days before/after your preferred dates. You can then pick the flights that suit you best.

See more FAQs

Top tips for finding a cheap flight from Cairns to San Francisco

  • San Francisco has three major international airports. San Francisco International Airport (SFO) is a convenient airport to use if you're trying to get to San Francisco, and it's also well located for easy access to other parts of The Bay.
  • For easy Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) access to the city, Oakland International Airport (OAK) and San Francisco International Airport are convenient. They are both under 15 miles (25 km) from downtown San Francisco, so they are about the same in regards to the cost of an Uber or Lyft. San Francisco International Airport has more options for international flights; thus, that will likely be your only option.
  • A good airport to use if you aren't going to San Francisco but rather to the South Bay is Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport (SJC), if you can get a flight there. If you are visiting Oakland, Berkeley or anywhere in the East Bay, Oakland Airport is much more convenient if flights are available.

Top airline flying from Cairns to San Francisco

 
See real verified KAYAK customer reviews for airlines flying from Cairns to San Francisco. Airline scores are aggregated from all reviews left by passengers on KAYAK after flying with an airline. KAYAK doesn’t show reviews that are older than 5 years. Learn how KAYAK collects reviews.
Need help choosing which airline to fly with from Cairns to San Francisco? KAYAK airline reviews give an overall score for each airline based on loads of factors, including comfort, boarding, in-flight entertainment and more, to make your decision easier. See airline scores according to verified KAYAK customer reviews.
8.2
Air New ZealandOverall score based on 633 reviews
8.4Boarding
8.8Crew
7.6Food
7.9Entertainment
8.1Comfort
Airline reviews

Great meal. Best seats ever! They need to teach other airlines how to do that.

10.0 ExcellentSteveDiane, Apr 2024TBU - AKL
Read more about Air New Zealand reviews

Great meal. Best seats ever! They need to teach other airlines how to do that.

Overall excellent but the Captain kept the seat belt sign on for far too long, especially at the beginning and end of the flight. It was 2 hours after take-off before the crew were able to start the service (on an 11 hour night flight, reducing our sleeping time) and the seat belt sign on went on during breakfast (90 mins before landing) and was not turned off again until we landed. This made for an uncomfortable journey of trying to limit fluid intake because it was unclear when the toilets would be available for use.

The staff and crew on board were excellent. Business class however, was very weird. I thought we would have individual pods, but the way it was set up was unexpected. Not very private and If you wanted to lay down, you had to have an entire bed made up for you by the crew, rather than how Delta one works where you could just lie down whenever you feel like it. It was a 16 hour flight. I chose not to have my bed made, and that turned out to be a good idea because everybody who had their bed made had to wait for the crew to roll up their mattresses. So strange!

Couldn’t request a vegan meal somehow but I noticed other people getting them

They announced food service but then never came around. We also couldn’t land so kept trying to get to runway and then had to come up and go around happened like 3 times and cause the child next to me to start throwing up

Good food and entertainment options. Great Staff that were all welcoming and caregiving.

The recline on the seat in front of me came back so that I was staring at the top of the man’s head in front of me the whole trip. He refused to bring his seat back up twice every time he was instructed to do so and only relented when he had a tray of good in front of him. And then right back in my lap!!! Horrible man!! I complained to the staff multiple times, but no one would address the issue. Otherwise, it would have been a perfect flight.

Carring crew, nice ambiance of the cabin, comfortable beds, good food well served. We liked everything.

The pilot tried to make up for lost time due to delays that were out of her control. She communicated the issues openly and clearly and made every effort to do what she could to alleviate issues.

So here's the rub - my flight was booked through Chatdeal even though I bought it under the Kayak umbrella. All the return flights were theoretically through Air New Zealand, however except for the initial leg from New Zealand, they were all partnered flights. So when I arrived at the airport in New Zealand they could only issue me my ticket to Fiji. Once in Fiji I had to do some serious leg work and finagling to get my ticket to Los Angeles through Fiji Air. This included a monitored covid RAT that I wasn't aware I needed to do. So I gave the score I did because of the complexity and annoyance created in the process of getting a boarding pass for my Nadi-LA flight.

Book cheap flights from Cairns to San Francisco

Recent one-way flight deals

 
Only flying one-way? Below are some of the best one-way flight deals from Cairns to San Francisco found on KAYAK in the last 72 hours.
3/7Wed
2 stops
44h 15mCNS-SFO
$904
3/7Wed
1 stop
20h 15mCNS-SFO
$1,116
3/7Wed
3 stops
28h 52mCNS-SFO
$1,935

Search by stops

Search by price

Cairns - San Francisco Flights

Departure:

Cairns (undefined)Australia

Destination:

San Francisco (SFO)United States

Return flight deals:

San Francisco - Cairns

Cabin classes: